Hi guys. I’m new to Kicad but have progressed very quickly to laying out my own PCBs from schematics thanks to the remarkably usable package that has been created. I’ve just generated a BOM from my PCB and it has something that is puzzling me. There is an entry which is a single final line in the Calc spreadsheet:
Id=18 | designator=,,,,,,,,,,,,, | Quantity=14 |
The other fields are empty. There are 13 commas in the designator list but no other characters or spaces between.
I have checked Ground characters, there are 16. I have checked labels, there are 12. I can’t think of anything else which may be relevant. Can anyone please enlighten me as to what this is referring to?
Post your Project file or, at least, Post your CSV as it was exported.
You may also check your ‘Calc’ import settings (by Calc, I assume you mean Lebre’s Calc).
These settings work for me: for BOM’s exported as CSV in both PCB-Editor and Schematic. Note: If you have columns you don’t want imported, you can click the Top of the Column and select Hide
Your csv file loads okay with my settings (as shown). I also clicked my Macro button and it works okay (though, your csv doesn’t include my fields, no commas show up).
Again, set your Calc import settings to my settings…
Sorry BC, I should have thought to say that I’ve reordered the entries in the spreadsheet manually after loading it up. That is why it looks different to your own. I haven’t made any major changes to the data, just copy/paste ordered the caps and resistors into ascending value and shifted a couple of components as their values were tweaked.
There is no problem in importing and displaying the info in the spreadsheet, only in what that entry #18 is based on. My spreadsheet looked exactly like yours when it first loaded up. I reckon my settings are the same as yours. I’ll check of course but I’m sure the problem isn’t in the spreadsheet import settings, it’s more in what the BOM processor is identifying and pushing out. It must be identifying something.
This isn’t a huge issue, I just think it is wise to understand what is going on and what the software generated data is actually telling me for the future.
Import settings are a tad different. I have Character Set “Western Europe (Windows-1252/WinLatin 1)”, Locale “Default English UK” (there’s nothing like the real thing , English US is not offered as an option, however Yiddish US is!), “Tab, Comma, Semicolon” selected, “Merge Delimiters” and “Trim Spaces” not selected.
I’ve set it up like your own and retried the import. I get exactly the same as you do, 18 is still there and displayed as yours is, and exactly what I saw before reordering. That pretty much rules out the import settings.
ahh, yes, I see the commas in loading on line 18 (my oversight as I saw them at the bottom of the list in your post).
That’s why it’s important to post your files. Look at the Symbol/Footprint for the 14 items associated with the commas… I suspect that’s where to look…
I’m not sure what you mean, there is no symbol or footprint offered in the data. It isn’t in the .csv file or the spreadsheet. Entry 18 only has the commas and the number of spaces or list entries they represent, 13 commas=14 spaces. Where do you mean I should look for that?
Sorry, I just thought I might have found a fellow fan. Humble Pie were renowned for their cover version of Tina Turner’s “Black Coffee” way back in the day. Great atmospheric rock track.
I have a .zip of the project. I hope everything needed is in there. NotAKlon.zip (319.8 KB)
I will say that, while I admit to being new to Kicad, I’m pretty experienced in the concepts from many years of using an old Proteus version for work. Footprints and symbols are familiar concepts to me and I have been around the Kicad libraries picking them out and even creating a few of my own as an exercise. That said, of course I will admit that I don’t know what Kicad does with them in the background.
Ahhhhh! I get it now from what you have posted there but where is that report generated? I was completely unaware of its existence. That is assuming it isn’t in one of the files I’ve posted already.
Sure, I could tell you where the Report is but won’t tell you. I’m a believer in Click every button and menu-item so as to learn, thus enabling knowledge.
Run the DRC/ERC tool in Schematic and in PCB… you’ll find Cigar ashes (little Arrows)… I Hope
ADDED: At this point, it appears to be all about your building a Good Schematic and PCB, not about creating a CSV… I’ll Close this Post ‘Soon’ as I will assume your knowledge/skill is adequate sans the familiarity with Kicad and it’s resources for problem-solving.
Ok, I’m getting there. I’ve found the Design Rule Checker in both the schematic and layout sections and I can see it is generating error reports. They don’t look like yours do yet but I’ll persevere with that side of things. Thanks for your help this evening. I’ll come back and update once I have it tied down. I really appreciate your time spent coaxing me along. It has shown me a lot of new ideas I have not gone into before. Take a rest from me and have yourself a black coffee. It might even be worth looking up “Humble Pie Black Coffee” on YouTube if you are into classic rock. Marriott was the best rock/soul vocalist the UK has ever produced.
, English US is not offered as an option, however Yiddish US is!), “Tab, Comma, Semicolon” selected, “Merge Delimiters” and “Trim Spaces” not selected.
) Nope, not there. It took me a while to locate where it was saved to.